A bit too many clients ask for a great design to embrace their online presence. They would want the ‘wow’ effect configured into every square centimeter of their web page. The need for eye-candy does not seem to end.

But it really should.

Design is secondary. And design has a duty to perform i.e. to disperse the user’s attention is predetermined ways. I have said this before and I do not mind saying it again, it is that important.

Design is hardly the aspect of your website that is going to get people coming back; they may like the design, like it once or like it forever, but if the design is the only thing they like, they will not come back to your website, ever.

On the other hand, your website provides the users with what they want, and they will keep coming back, year after year. There is a reason that websites made especially for designers do not have, arguably, the best flash animation or the latest in CSS techniques implemented. What they do have is content that is relevant and designers keep coming back.

In my experience, clients would love to get to the nitty-gritty of design, ignoring the actual content of the website itself. The focus is purely on ‘looks’ and project delays are because of the back and forth of emails and design drafts. Seriously, design does not deserve this kind of attention. Design is important, yes. But not this important. Priorities need to be set straight before embarking on any project, and web development project is and should not be, any different.

Websites really do not matter.

Who ever is going to visit your site? Why would they? There are billions of web pages out there, why would someone just stumble upon your page?You actually paid someone to design a website for you? Did not your 15 year old nephew offer to do it for a ride on a motorbike or something?

Who really reads a blog? There could possibly be no use of someone no one has ever heard of saying whatever he or she wishes to say…